Foodarama At 5665 Beechnut St.

[SpaceGhost]

Does anyone know what the Foodarama at 5665 Beechnut St, Houston, TX 77096 was originally built as? I've tried checking HCAD but there's no listing for the building, just the whole shopping center which doesn't help.

[IronTiger]

7 hours ago, SpaceGhost said:

Does anyone know what the Foodarama at 5665 Beechnut St, Houston, TX 77096 was originally built as? I've tried checking HCAD but there's no listing for the building, just the whole shopping center which doesn't help.

It has definitely been a Foodarama since the 1990s...Mariners Guide, which lists a bunch of 1990s grocers (including Price Buster Foods, Food Lion, and H-E-B Pantry) has it as a Foodarama. It might have been a Minimax in a past life, but probably not a big chain grocer, at least recently.

 

It's *possible* it was a first-generation Randalls (as there are gaps in my list).

Edited August 8, 2016 by IronTiger

[Gurgis]

It's been a Foodarama for a long time (maybe even since the 80's). I occasionally took my grandmother there to get groceries. And before that, I went with family to that strip mall starting in the late 60's. I can't quite remember what was there before Foodarama though. It couldn't have been a Randall's though (as mentioned above). They came to town way after that. 

 

The Maplewood Mall apparently opened in 1965, according to the link below. I guess the "indoor" aspect is gone? I remember much of the mall being inclosed, allowing people to shop between stores while staying out of the heat and rain. I want to say that I remember going to a 5-and-dime type store (possibly a TG&Y), and a Mexican restaurant at the far left (east) end at that strip mall.

 

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/memorial-news/article/Maplewood-Mall-s-new-look-is-official-1482469.php

 

Edited August 8, 2016 by Gurgis

[sevfiv]

It was a Weingarten's (J. Weingarten Grocery No. 66, to be exact) and listed as a Foodarama as early as 1976.